Just over 1 month ago I set foot on the Larapinta trail. A 2 week hike in Central Australia along the West MacDonnell ranges. The trail was rugged & beautiful. Extremes of weather & beautiful wildflowers that had popped due to the rains they had at the end of the wet season (around March I presume).
This was the first hike where I was 100% stoked with the health of the food I took on the trail. No compromising which I feel I have had to in the past due to weight considerations. So I hope to inspire you with dehydrated options, snacks & nutrition to hopefully make your next hike a little healthier.
It is common for me to do soaked muesli for breaky, a variety of snack bars & crackers/protein for lunch. But I was able to pimp things up & have a completely dairy free, gluten free menu that simply felt clean for healthy gut, energy & bowel movements (which are a key part of healthy trekking I believe!).
Breakfast involved a home made muesli mix with oats, almonds, wild dried blueberries, coconut, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, goji berries, chopped sulphur free apricots, sunflower seeds, plus a mixed addition of GF muesli creations from the Byron Bay company & one in mum’s fridge lol… I needed to make a LOT to feed my dad & I for 13 days - 1 cup each per day. I then added Locako dairy free creamer & protein powder to each bowl soaked overnight. The only reason I chose the creamer was I was looking for coconut milk powder but couldn’t find any where I was so I went to the health food shop & found again a pimped up version that had coconut milk powder, MCT oil, grass fed collagen, monk fruit juice & vanilla bean extract. The protein powder I chose was a sprouted brown rice protein with Lysine from BioMedica. I felt like these additions gave me extra calories that allowed me to feel supported with the big days of hiking we were doing. The first 3 days were longer, some around 28km with a 16-18kg pack so I wanted to support us.
The main/dinner meals were created by my amazing Mumma while in self isolation after getting back from Sydney close to boarder closure. I always lean on simple dahls & veggie curries when hiking but having done the hike before 10 yrs earlier I was aware that water made up a lot of my weight so the thought of cutting down any possible kg felt fabulous! We decided on dahls, cauliflower green curry, stir fry veg with vermicelli rice noodles, veggie korma, etc…on repeat… I was stoked with all of them! We tried one packet dahl from the health food shop & I can totally make a better version, but hey, good to experiment lol. Here are some pics to give you an idea of the quantities, the abundance of veggies that would have weighed a lot in my pack & the simplicity of simply having to rehydrate our dinners when we got to camp. After 30mins of rehydration we heated them on the cooker & they were ready to be served. A perfect wholesome meal being ‘prepared’ while we washed & set up camp. If you can keep in mind to not have too much fat in your dehydrated meals (like tinned coconut milk) then the meals dehydrate with a lot more ease & can keep for longer. Kale chips coated in savoury yeast flakes & blended cashews were a huge hit dehydrated & sprinkled on top for a boost of greens that tasted amazing! Our green coconut cauliflower curry was extra special sprinkled with cashews & toasted coconut flakes.
I have a 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator & it was on high rotation over 12hr periods with all of these dishes.
Lunches I kept simple with sardines & Carmens GF crackers that had a packet around them so could be squeezed & smooshed in my pack without too much care. Keep in mind it adds to rubbish but i was ok with that as i knew id have some anyway & was able to leave it at the food drops every 3-4 days. The rubbish factor is something I could definitely improve on next hike, as i used a lot of zip lock bags, but compared to how i live my life at home I guess it is a small moment in time. Still doesnt feel great, so do let me know if you have other compact ideas that are robust for multi-day hiking. The sardines were in spring water - this felt cleaner for me as oils can sometimes be rancid or low quality. This lunch got repeatitive but i accepted that with how good i was feeling. Mixed with activated nuts, miso soup, GF DF tomato & basil or potato & leek soup, the occassional rehydrated hommus for an afternoon snack & my yummy variety of superfood bars, i was good to go. I find food is secondary to me on the trail as i am so satiated by the environment & the challenge in front of me. As long as it is clean & not hindering my energy, digestion & mood (which crap food does to everyone in different degrees).
I’ve attached pics of all incase you want to see brands etc for recognition to use for your next adventure.
the Pukka berry tea with rose hip, blueberry, hibiscus, etc was beautiful at any time of day & a little sweet with no nasty sweetners.
I hope these shares help inspire of guide your next adventure. I did take some powdered & capsule supplements with me for continued support - like green powders & NAC for gentle detox while hiking (to take advantage of time on the trail). If you need individual nutrition guidance or support pre or post hike or simply some more clarity on meal prepping for adventures then I’d love to talk to you! You can book a consult by phoning me or email - 0438733103/janellecarolyn@gmail.com - I would love to support you on your health journey. This stuff lights me up & I’d be stoked to assist.
A beautiful opportunity to reboot, cleanse & reset perhaps after a hike is my next fasting retreat in North Queensland in October (27-31st). I love doing these types of cleanses before or after to enhance performance & reset my system. You can read more details here.
Janelle x
